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Employee-Manager Conflict; Owning It

After spending a great deal of time over the past few months with some of my employment law colleagues who do company defense work, there was one theme that resonated loudly – THEY ARE BUSIER THAN THEY HAVE BEEN IN YEARS. The economy is experencing steady growth, and the market place for employment has been expanding with it. Employees (good and not-so-good) have more choices about where they would like to work, and are therefore not so reticent about firing their employers. The appetite that employees have had to set aside their concerns; the disputes, grievances and interpersonal conflicts that may have seemed unimportant in a rough econonmy, or that were hidden or unaddressed for other reasons, might suddenly have a shorter shelf-life.

Businesses owners and all who manage the work of others, would be wise to conduct informal engagement check-ins early and often with their people. Are employees aware of the avenues they have to resolving their complaints within their workplace? If there is a lack of communcation about the internal resources available for voicing concerns, the litigation market place offers a plethera of options. If the latter is chosen, how does the dispute evolve? What is the message, and who has a qualified interest in living with the outcome?